Deeper Than the Surface
by ImTheAngel
Summary: Life isn't as shallow as it seems when there's an Angel involved.
1. Don't Even Think About It

Pancakes. So much as _think_ the word and-

"PANCAKES!? Did someone say pancakes?!" his words were accompanied by the sound of feet pounding away from a slammed door and towards the living room where I perched myself on the plush purple couch reading about how to make double chocolate chocolate chip pancakes with a side of chocolate covered bacon and topped with sweetened strawberries and homemade whipped cream. "Angel, did you say panca-ooo! That looks good!" He licked his lips as he grabbed my laptop from me and carried it to the other side of the couch.

"No, Austin," I snatched the sticker covered Mac bak and added, "I merely whispered a thought in my mind."

"You merely whispered a thought in you mind? What are you? 84?" Ally's grouchy scoff dropped into our conversation. Big surprise (she thought sarcastically).I try to be nice to every one, but Ally makes it nearly impossible.

"Try 17," I smiled at the beginning of our morning routine. "If I want to be president, I'm going to have to expand my vocabulary to indescribable volumes."

"Like you said, you're only 17. Why don't you act like it? You can be pres in a few years. You don't have to land the job today. Now... about breakfast..."

"The future starts now, Austin. The decisions we make today can make or break us later on down the road. So what if I walk, talk, or act different than the kids my age? That just means I'm one step closer to my dreams than they are." I smirked, knowing I'd won. As usual.

"Whatevs. I'm more worried about breakfast than my future. So, I was thinking..." He tapped the top of my computer. "pancakes sound good."

As I stood up to head into the kitchen, I continued our conversation, "You know, sometimes I wonder how you're as successful as you are." I paused to rest my laptop on the counter and open the fridge. "It can't be your assertiveness, your determination, or your _focus_." I grabbed the milk, butter, bacon,chocolate. "It can't be your your good looks or charm." I turned to put the ingredients on the counter, smiled, and winked at him. "I mean, you would have to have those in the first place." two pans, four large bowls, and a pot joined the party on the counter as we heard Ally Disney Channel on in living room. "I guess we could blame it on you skills. Maybe it's Ally," my last sentence was delivered with a heavy helping of disdain as I recovered the rest of the ingredients and a whisk from their various hiding places.

Knowing Ally has treated me like a pest since the day Rose and I arrived, Austin quickly retorted with, "Maybe it's you," and took a seductive step toward me, made even sexier with a small half-smile that almost caused me to melt.

I just smiled, " Austin Monica Moon, you don't get out of my kitchen and there won't be pancakes for a _week_."

His eyes bugged out of his head and he swiftly retreated to the living room, where he could watch from a safe distance.

The comment he made still Rhodes in my mind. "Maybe it's you." Combined with his actions, te gesture was confusing.

Was it possible...?

Could Austin...?

Does he...?

No. Don't even think about it, Angel. It's never going to happen.

But could it?


	2. Snapped

After Austin wolfed down like eight plates of pancakes and stuff, we all headed to our rooms to dress for school. I slipped on my neon blue spaghetti strap dress and sparkly black wedges. Austin, of course, wore ripped jeans and a t-shirt that showed off the rippling pythons he calls "muscles". Sarah and Tiffany emerged wearing more feminine versions of Austin's outfit. Rosalina, like always, had to be original and wear a black ruffled skirt, purple blouse, and – because she's my twin sister 0 sparkly purple wedges. The most astonishing of the outfits, however, didn't last long for as soon as Ally discovered she had put on the same outfit as me – but in red – she marched right back to her room and changed into booty shorts, a v-neck t-shirt, and flip-flops. As soon as she got back she hugged Austin. My eyes have never rolled so far up before. She _knows_ I like Austin. She can only _hope_ he likes her. I'm _so_ done with her abusing my nice side to her advantage.

When she finally let go of Austin, I grabbed his hand, slammed his keys into his other hand, and dragged an extremely confused looking Austin to his electric yellow Camaro. He stood straight and stepped into the driver's seat, staring at me like I had two heads, because my name pretty much describes me: angelic, sweet, positive, passive, calm, practically perfect in every way. I'm pretty sure Rose had a bit of a smile on her face as she climbed unto the backseat with me. tiff and Sarah hitched their regular ride with Ally. We all have cars, but we like carpool, and switch which person drives, but keep the same people in whichever car we drive (Austin, Rose, and I in one; Sarah, Tiff, and Ally in the other) for fight control. Something about Tiff and Rose not liking each other and Ally getting in my face one too many times.

Our journey was filled with Austin's music blaring from the radio, until about halfway there I reached forward, unplugged his iPod, plugged mine in, and flipped to Skrillex. Austin rolled his eyes but just smiled and kept both hands on the wheel. Being the dork he is, like every other school morning when we pulled into our normal parking spot, he announced, "Now arriving at school. Everybody out."

Rose rolled her eyes and muttered, "Wierdo," but grabbed her bag and slid out after me just as Sarah and Tiff popped out of Ally's car.

As our giggling group floated into school, Destiny Smith, the school prostitute, shoved her way between Austin and me, making sure her hand brushed his bum and her ample chest his shoulder. "Heyyy, Austin," she purred, batting her eyelashes. When she passed Austin rolled his eyes and pretended to gag.

"Heyyy, Austin," I mocked, opening my locker.

"I know, right," Tiff agreed, checking her hair in the mirror hanging from her locker next to Rose.

"Oh, you know you're jealous," Austin grinned, still trying to remember his combination – well, permutation – an my left. From his left Ally rolled her eyes and Sarah looked at him like he was psycho.

I glared at him for a second, then gave him a knowing grin and shot back with, "Oh, you know you liked it." He can't stand Destiny.

His lock lay unattended in his eyebrow, as did I. she knew exactly what was missing from his last sentence. "Excuse me?"

"Oh. Would you _please_ help me with this stupid thing, Angel?"

"28, 0, 14."

"Thanks!" he squished me into a hug. "You really are an Angel!"

"Whatever, weirdo." Rose laughed at my repetition of her nickname for Austin, and we all returned to our lockers.

I leaned in to retrieve my spare package of pens, since _Austin_ decided that guns would be a better use for pens then schoolwork. As I retreated, a chill darted up my spine at the hand that was placed on the small of my back, followed by the deep voice, "good morning, ladies!"

"SAM!" Rose shrieked, pulling her boyfriend into a tight embrace.

Sam King. My secret ex. My worst nightmare. A monster I've kept from even my twin sister. I _hate_ how he's charmed her so well that she refuses to listen to me when I tell her he's bad news. She probably thinks he's _sooo_ sweet or that I'm just jealous. Or both.

"How's my Rose bud doing today?" my grip on my locker door became so forceful my knuckles looked as if they had been stained by snow.

"She's doing good," Rose had a love struck look on her face. Balls. "How's my Sam I am?" Great. Now he's turned my sister into Doctor Frogging Suess.

"Great, now that I get to see my Rose in full bloom." Austin made a retching noise. The rest of the girls (minus Tiff) made an awww noise. With my knowledge that by "Rose in full bloom" hemeant the same thing he meant when he said "Angel spread her wings" i.e. he had her in a place where he could get away with whatever he wanted to do with her, I wanted to _kill_ him.

There's _now way_ on God's green earth this… thing is going to destroy my sister the way he did me. being the good girl I am, I won't let him get to me. I won't let him _win_. So, I pushed all my hostility, anger, and hatred down deep and let it blow with the world's biggest _SLAM!_ Of my locker. Then, I stalked towards French, feeling the incredulous stares of my friends, and the carnivorous stare of a monster on the prowl.

It didn't take long until I heard Austin's feet rushing after me/ I walked faster, running away from the question I knew he was going to ask. He caught up with me just as we took our seats and the bell rang, meaning no talking unless you want detention for a month. I took a deep breath and dove into les François, only to get sidelong glances every time one of my friends entered the classroom. Rose sashayed into the classroom five minutes late with none other than "Sam I am" himself hanging from her arm. This is going to be fun.

I could practically _feel_ Austin roll his eyes in the next desk over. I think he despises their relationship almost as much as I do. His reason being that his sixth sense – specially formed for detecting danger – was probably setting off every alarm imaginable in his head.

Sam sneered as he sat down behind me and leaned forward so the hands I knew all to well poked into my back the whole period, making me uncomfortable to the nth degree. I couldn't focus again until the bell signaled our release from – as most of us considered the last hour – a living… h-e-double-hockey-sticks.

The second Mademoiselle Monet released us, both Austin and I were out of our seats. Before I could even breath again, that old familiar hand was creeping along my back and Sam brushed past me after whispering in his menacingly deep voice, "Can't wait till you're birthday."

My birthday. The day it happened. The day he first raped me. The day he never lets me forget. The day he celebrated a year later with an even worse present of the same kind. The third year we celebrated my birthday together was the day he broke our secret ties to create public ones with my sister. It was both the best and the worst present anyone could ever give. I dread this years present. No one could ever despise their birthday as much as I.

Austin's jaw clenched at the pale green of my face. He grabbed my arm and had to practically drag me to the classroom across the hall because I was frozen in terror. The door barely had time to swing shut before he choked out a strangely soft, "What's going on?"

I threw my arms around his neck and let loose all the tears I had been holding back for years.


	3. SO Done

Austin's P.O.V.

I just now realized that I've never seen Angel cry before. It just about killed me to se her cry like that. To see her cry at all was heart breaking and, well… shocking enough. The fact that creepy Sam was the cause of it just plain _pisses_ me off.

I never liked him, from the second he approached rose. And he thinks no one sees the pervo way he touches Angel's back and whispers in her ear. Ooo… if I have _ever_ wanted to kill anyone… I _swear_ on my _life_, he hurts Angel – he hurts _any_ of them – he will die _the most_ excruciatingly painful death possible. The fact that I used such an Angel word as "excruciatingly" to describe how much he's going to hurt, should scare the shit out of him. Oh, yeah! The bitch is going down!

When the bell rang, Angel whispered between hiccupping sobs, "We should… get… to… class… before… we… get… in any… more… trouble… than we… already… are."

I sighed, knowing from past experience that when Angel said she was done, there's no changing her mind. So, I wasn't going to find out what that little fucker said or did to her until school isn't there to interrupt. "Let's get you cleaned up first." I started with a tear silently trailing down her cheek. She nodded.

Angel and I have – legit – _every_ class together, so I got to keep a close eye on her. Luckily, we don't share anymore classes with dick face.

Until lunch, that is…

Rose's P.O.V.

I'm so happy Sam has lunch with me! I don't think I could wait until last period to see him again. He's just _sooo_ sweet!

We sat down with our usual meal: sub sandwich, bag of chips, and soda for him, salad and water for me. he says I should eat salad and drink water because it keeps me healthy, and helps me live longer. He says he doesn't want me dying before he does. Isn't that so sweet? And Angel says he's no good. I think she's just jealous.

Thinking of Angel, where is she. Both her and Austin haven't showed yet. Usually they're the first one's in here. When they finally showed, neither of them had a lunch. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed. Sensitive as he is, Sam asked, "Aren't you guys hungry?" looking more at Angel than Austin.

Austin glared at him and ground his teeth. Appearing to be close to tears, Angel just kept looking at the table and mumble, "Not right now."

"What's wrong, Ang?" Sarah asked.

Angel attempted to put her happy face on, "Hmm? Oh, I'm fine." I saw Austin glance protectively at her and grab her hand in his.

What's going on?

"Bull shit! Something's wrong, Triple A," Sam pointed out. He's so – what would Angel say – discerning.

Both Austin and Angel snapped their heads toward Sam and glared. Angel growled, "Don't call me that."

"What? Triple A?" Sam sneered.

What is going on?

Angel exhaled heavily and seethed, "_Don't_ call me that,:

"Why? Does it bother you? Triple A?"Sam said snottily.

Huh? Everyone but Austin – who just glared at Sam – watched the staring contest wioth disbelieving glances between the two.

Why was Angel being anything but her usual near- angelic self?

Why is Sam being such a jerk?

I saw Angel's fists and jaw clench so tight I'm sure fingernail sized indentions appeared on her palms and her teeth got smashed up into her gums.

"What's wrong, Triple A? Lost your voice?"

I half expected Angel to snap or jump across the table and rip his face off. I could tell the others kind of wanted to say something, just as I, but were both scared and confused. But the last thing anyone expected happened.

Austin snapped.

He slammed his fists on the table and _yelled_, " Shut… the _FUCK_ up! What the _hell_ is your problem? Huh? You need a fucking hearing aid, asshole? She told you _twice_ not to fucking call her that!" Austin has never cussed that much in a _day_, much less one breath.

I've never heard 400 kids get quiet so fast. He leaned close to Sam's face, ignoring incredulous stares from everyone – Sam and Angel included. "If you _ever_ come near _any_ of these girls, again I will knock your lights out so fast you won't see what's coming. I don't know what your game is, but it stops right here, right now."

Sam took a moment filled with nothing but silence before he put his arm around my shoulders, smirked and said, "Is that a threat?"

Austin's face got impossibly more purple and he practically spat, "That's a fucking _promise_, bitch." You could hear the unanimous gasp from everyone in the cafeteria, as they reacted to Austin actually going off on somebody, not to mention promising to kick their ass and calling them "bitch".

Sam just kept smirking, leaned closer, and said, "I'd like to see you try."

I snapped out of shock fast enough to reprimand him, "Sam!" at the same time Austin's fist came plummeting down into his face and Sam fell off his seat to his head on the garbage cam on his way to the floor.


	4. What?

Tiff's P.O.V.

"Oh, _shit_!" drifted from the surprised murmurs in reaction to Austin's un-Austin punch in Sam's face.

When Angel took her hand away from her face, there was the biggest grin I've ever seen.

What the…? She's _smiling_?

"Hell to the fuck yeah, man!" Angel put up her hand to high five Austin, who for some reason, was smiling as well.

Double wha-? Angel _cussed_? They're _smiling_? I'm pretty sure the body laying unconscious next to a crying Rose is Sam. Though, it's hard to tell with his nose halfway across his face, a swollen eye, a split lip and blood oozing everywhere. Wait… are those teeth Sam's, too? He's _definitely_ passed out. Austin _really_ meant he would knock his lights out.

And they're _smiling_?

_What_… is going… on?

"That was _awesome_! You are _now_ my new favorite person!" Austin grinned right back at her.

Who the hell are these people and what the fuck have they done with my friends? Hell, what have they done with my school? They've _never_ been this quiet in their _entire_ lives!

Austin and Angel were still celebrating when our principal, Mr. Kickalt, walked up right behind Angel. When she saw the smile fade from Austin's face and the rest of us shifting our shocked stares to behind her, she turned around, _still grinning_, and greeted Mr. Kickalt. "Hey, Mr. K! did you see that? How _awesome_ was _that_?"

Grinning he was _not_. "Miss Aaron's, Mr. Moon. Follow me. _Now_."

Austin slouched as Angel _cheerily_ grabbed his hand and – I _swear_ – _skipped_ off behind Mr. Kickalt… _still fucking grinning_.

What the _hell_?

Ally's P.O.V.

All I can say to what just occurred is… ?

Sarah's P.O.V.

Two things come to mind after seeing that: Go, Austin! and _what_?!


	5. Laughing Out Loud

Angel's P.O.V.

When we finally finished up with Mr. Kickalt, I was still happy about Sam finally getting what he deserved, and even happier that it was Austin who got to deliver the place-putting blow. I was kind of bummed about him getting kicked out of school for three days. Luckily, Austin is the only person Mr. Kickalt likes. He wouldn't want to force his favorite student to miss two of his best friends' birthday and a Friday, now would he? I guess he figured Austin wouldn't kill anybody in a day and one period.

We have last period with Rose, Sam , and Tiffany. Except for today. Today we only have Rose and Tiffany. We sat down in our normal back row seat. Rose didn't look up from the tissue in her hand. The smile faded from my lips seeing my sister is distraught over that… ignoramus getting his face jacked up. Tiffany leaned back in her seat and whispered, "Austin really fucked up Sam's face. He went to the ER. 'Rose bud' won't quit crying. Ugh. She needs a life." Let's just say Rose and Tiff aren't _besties_. "Can I just ask a question?"

"Duh."

"Why the hell did he do it? I mean, what's up with you two?"

"Nothing. Just having a rough day."

I guess I answered a little too hastily because she whipped around and scrutinized my face for signs of the _whole_ truth. She squinted at me, "What's going on?"

"Miss Summers! Miss Aarons! Do you have something to share with the rest of the class?" Ms. Winkled raised her eyebrow at the front of the class.

I was getting sick of being called "Miss Aarons" and I was feeling a bit feisty. "We were just discussing the difference between protons and ice cream," I was being a smart aleck, fully aware that we were in calculus, not physics. My smirk earned a laugh from the class and a shocked expression from Ms. Winkled.

"Very funny, Miss Aarons. Try again."

"Oh!" I snapped my fingers. "I remember, now! It was the quadratic formula!" I was getting so into this I leaned forward in my desk.

She crossed her arms, not finding this as amusing as I. "Oh really? And what would that be?"

I started slow, messing with her and wasting time for I did not feel up to math at this moment. "X equals… negative f… plus – or maybe it was minus – the square of c squared plus ninety eight b… all times six over five." I grinned.

She _definitely_ wasn't smiling. Which, for some reason Austin, Tiff, and I found hilarious. I had the attention of the entire class, now. They were staring at me like I was an alien – including Rose. "Sounds like you two need help. Maybe you should stay after school."

Austin, Tiff, and I couldn't hold our laughter any longer. We busted like hyenas hype up on Mountain Dew.

"Mr. Moon, would you like to join them?"

Austin only stopped cracking up long enough to retort, "Sure. Sounds like fun."

Before long, we had the rest of the class – minus Rose – giggling right along side us. When Ms. Winkled banged her meter stick on her desk and hollered, "Knock it off! Class! Students!" Rose finally started chuckling.

We were still laughing when the bell rang. Ms. Winkled barked, "Sit. Down!" as we stood up to leave. Austin and Tiff plopped immediately back into their spots. I decided to take a more daring route, and sat on a desk. She raised her eyebrow.

I ignored the silent words floating from Austin's mouth, "What is up with you?"

"Miss Aarons, sit in your seat!"

"First, I can't sit _in_ a seat. Second, last time I checked the seat belongs to the school."

She smirked her fist on her desk, her angular face purple with annoyance, "Angeliciana Adele Aarons! Sit! Down!"

We all stared at her in utter surprise. _Nobody_ calls me by my full name. not even my dad did when he was alive. Not even my mom before she left Rose and I on Ally's doorstep when we were five. Not _even_ a teacher who has known me almost that long.

I hopped off the desk, placed a glaring scowl on my face and walked up to her desk. The closer I got, the more her anger was replaced by a look of slight fear. An avenging Angel is a lot scarier than a sweet one. "_What_… did you just call me?"

When she got over her fear she recovered her voice, "You heard me, Angeliciana. _Sit_ in your _seat_."

She reminded me so much of Sam at that moment that if Austin hadn't chosen right them to grab my waist, a certain little old lady would have ended up right alongside a certain jerk face in much the same condition as him. "Excuse me, Ms. Winkled, but if you don't mind, would it be okay if we went ahead and left?"

She was so taken aback by the whole situation she simply sighed, "Whatever, Austin. Yes. Just leave."

Austin pulled me to his car, Tiff tagging along. We climbed in and he nonchalantly stated, "Rose hitched a ride with Ally."

"Good for her," Tiff couldn't have sounded more sarcastic.

The car purred to life and automatically "Kill EVERYBODY" by Skrillex blasted from the stereo. "I want to kill everybody in the world." We just began our laughing fest over again.

So. Frogging. True.


	6. Happy Birthday?

Angel's P.O.V.

I awoke to the smell of chocolate, lemon, and pancakes. My first thought is _What the squiggle? How in the q is anybody else awake before me?_ Then I remember that today is the scariest day of my life, because I don't just have to worry about what Sam is going to do to me. I have to worry about what the devil is going to happen to my sister. Now, the only thought flying around in my head is the stress filled question of what kind of fresh pain is the world going to be introduced to today?

By the time I reach the bottom of the stairs, I am stressed to the stressed degree times nine hundred and fifty. Ugh! Why me? Why is it always me? Do I have a friggin neon sign flashing on my head that say f my life up? The sad thing is, I'm not even worried what fresh hell Sam has waiting for me. I'm more terrified for "Rose-bud". Oh heavens is that girl clueless!

The first thing that should have set off major alarms screaming just how bad today was going to be is the scene in the kitchen. Sarah and Ally were working on lemon filled pastries for my breakfast with my favorite cake sitting on the counter next to them. Mmm… lemon cake, filled with strawberry jam, iced with cream cheese icing, and topped with shaved coconut. Tiff and Austin were working on Rose's pancakes. Her chocolate cake, filled with melted chocolate chips, iced with fudge icing, and topped with Hershey's kisses was sitting on the counter next to them.

Say what? Since when does Tiff do anything nice for Rose and Ally anything nice for me? Who knows what they slipped in that food…

Austin turned to grab the bowl of pancake batter behind him and saw me. "No. Nonononono. Go back to bed." He gently pushed me back in the direction of my bedroom. "It is your eighteenth birthday. You are not going to ruin the surprise." He reached around me to open my bedroom door. "It's gonna be awesome."

I fell back on my bed and Austin sat next to me. "Austin… You know how I feel about my birthday."

"Why, Angie? You never told me why. The first year I knew you, you were this kick butt ninja chick, who would smile anybody into submission, and loved her birthday. Then, after a few months you started hanging out with us less and you got quieter and quieter. You started acting all jumpy like you were scared of your freaking shadow. Then came your next birthday, and you disappeared for half the day. When you got back, you looked like you'd spent all day crying. You wouldn't talk to anybody. The next year, you were gone all day and half the next. You looked like death warmed over. After that, you told us that you hated your birthday. You never told anyone – not even me – why. So why?"

I sighed. "Austin… I wish I could. I really wish I could." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Dang. What is up with this boy? It's like every time he asks for the truth, I just wanna give it to him. Erf. This whole being too scared to tell the truth thing sucks booty.

"Angel… Come on. You can trust me. Please, Ang. Please?"

My voice emerged barely a whisper. "I can't. I can't."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into his bare chest. "Whenever you're ready, babe. Whenever you're ready." After a few seconds of silence, his phone shatters the moment with "That's Just Who I Am". "What?" Silence as he get's an answer. " 'Kay. We'll be there in a sec'." He hung up without saying good-bye, stood up, and reached out his hands for me to grab. "Come on, my Angel, let's go see what that surprise is." I just smiled and let him pull me to the door.

We stepped into the hallway at the same time as Rose. She gave us this look like _Do I want to know?_ I guess we did look a little suspicious with me still in my silk sheep pajama shorts and tank top and Austin wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms (well, except boxers… maybe… hmm…). She looked a little weary as she said, "Good morning?"

We both started sputtering a response. "I was… uh…"

"She was… We were… I was just... uhh… It's not what… Eh heh." Austin scratched his head with the hand that wasn't enveloped in mine, trying to think of a way to say what was going on that didn't sound wrong.

"He was trying to get me to agree to celebrate my birthday."

Rose rolled her eyes and went, "Well, good luck with that, Aussi. That'll happen when I go to the moon."

"Better suit up, sis."

They both snapped their heads in my direction. "Nuh-uh."

Crap. Now I actually have to pretend like I'm enjoying my birthday. Stupid mouth-that's-faster-than-my-brain. I've been spending too much time with Austin. "Yup. I'm done living life-" I almost said in fear, "grumpily."

Austin and Rose both scoffed. "Do you even know the definition of grumpy?"

"Whatever. So where's this surprise you were telling me about?"

"Ooo! I Love surprises!"

"Sarah's in charge of your surprise." With that, Austin pulled me down the stairs, out the kitchen door, and around the side of the house – out of view of every one inside the house. Before I could think _What the q? _he had his arms wrapped around my waist and his lips locked on mine. After I finally had a clear thought go through my mind, I found myself kissing him back. When we came up for air he huskily whispered, "Happy birthday, my Angel."

Okay, so maybe I don't hate my birthday so much anymore.

The electricity was still zinging through my body, so the best I could come up with was a breathless, "Yup." And I started the fire all over again.

Before we walked back into the house, Austin slipped a charm necklace around my neck. Only two charms hung halfway down my torso: a intricately designed heart and a key. "What's this for?" squeezed through my lips.

I never noticed how sexy Austin was until I heard his voice go that deep. "It's the key to my heart." He reached down, stuck the key in the heart, and opened it to show me the picture inside. It was the picture of us on the beach. My favorite picture in the world is in "his heart"! I have never wanted to squeal like a cheerleader before – but I sure do now. That is just the cutest – eeee! (sigh) I think I'm in Love… I think -

"That's just who I am." And once again with the ringing of the phone. (sigh)

"Wha-at?!"

I heard something on the opposite end that sounded somewhat like, "What's raping the lawn." Okay, so it could've been, "What's raking the lawn." Now that I think about it, it was probably, "What's taking so long." Hehe. Ya. My brain's not as clean and angelic as they think.

"You can't rush perfection. You have to have some anticipation before you just spring a surprise on somebody." Mumble mumble mumble. "Tiff… Tiff… Tiff! I get it! Geez, calm your tits! Damn. I'll get to the point." Mumble mumble. "Whatever. I'll give it to her, okay." Very loud mumbles. "Anticipation! You have to have build-up! Holy cow! Who put crack in your coco puffs this morning?" I stifle a giggle at how much he sounded like me when he said that. Maybe it is true that you give someone a piece of you when you kiss them…

"She hung up on me. Eh. Not surprising. It _was_ Tiff." I smiled. "She's all like 'hurry up so we can get to school'. Like, since when does Tiff want to get to school?"

Well, that's weird. _Hello_, stupid?! For reals?! How in the happy barn do you miss that clue?!

But, no. My brain is stuck on cheerleader mode. So what do I do? I giggle. Bleh. Lucky for me, Austin seems to be experiencing the same high. "I should probably give you your birthday present before she has a coronary." Giggle. Giggle. Bleh.

"Mm hmm." He takes one of his arms from around my waist, and takes my hand. Giggle. Giggle. Man, I've been spending too much time with my sister. Ugh. Cheerleaders.

Before I've even registered that we had moved, we were across the backyard and in the shed. Hmm… Just so happens it's not exactly a shed anymore. It's an office. My office. And, dude, is it _tight_. Purple, baby blue, and neon green walls with some _sick_ designs. Sleek black desk with my mac, iPad, iPad mini, iPod, and iPhone sitting on it. Wait. How'd he get my iPod and phone? Sneaky… A printer, laminator, and labeler sit on a matching table next to _my_ desk. Bookshelves line the other three walls. All my books – and more – resting on them. I _knew_ something was missing in my room. A baby blue shag carpet sits under _my_ plush purple chair. Lights with light blue, neon green, and purple shades hung from the ceiling.

Dude… This is _so _wicked! Okay, so I'm a bit of a nerd. Who can blame me? I think it's so sweet that they know me well enough to get me something I would Love that would make me a little less mad about them celebrating a birthday I don't want.

Okay, so maybe I don't hate my eighteenth birthday.

Until we get to school that is…

Austin's P.O.V.

We walk into school like every other day: a giggly bunch of cool looking people. Except today, we were floating higher on the clouds than ever. Well, at least me and Angel were. I haven't let go of her since we kissed. I guess I'm kinda afraid that if I do, then I'll end up losing her again.

But, like they say: nothing good ever lasts.

Today is a pep rally day, which means that the whole entire school (like 3,000 kids) are jam packed into the gym. This is the one time I've ever heard everybody go quiet when the bell rings. Which is probably because Principal Dick – I mean – Kickalt is sitting right in the front row.

Angel and I should've seen this coming. Who knows, maybe she did and was just to scared to say anything. I know we both had a silent understanding that Sam is a freaking _psycho_.

The cheerleaders (Rose and her crew) sat down on the gym floor (cheerleader style) and the lights went out. I'm pretty sure everybody thought this was just part of their act – as well as the _click_s that sounded suspiciously like doors locking – because we all cheered.

We weren't cheering when the lights came back on and there was ten nickelodeon characters holding guns. _BIG_ guns.

Rose's P.O.V.

Now, when there's ten people dressed up as nickelodeon characters holding guns, you kinda get why your twin sister hates her birthday.

When they start yelling at everybody to stay in their seats or someone gets shot, you understand a little more.

When three teachers and two kids from the front rows go to stop them and get shot right in front of you, that's when you start to hate your birthday, too.

When somebody dressed as Dora (obviously a guy by his voice) grabs your arm, holds a pistol – instead of the big ass gun hanging from his shoulder – to your head, looks straight at your sister, and announces, "We own you guys right now. If anybody tries anything, we'll kill you one by one. Slowly but surely. Anyone tries to be a hero and stop us, we'll kill everybody you care about in here. You hear me, Triple A."

Five pairs of eyes turn to Angel – the only people who know the only person who would _dare_ call her that. But, it can't be… Sam would never… Would he? Is this what Angel tried to warn me about?

She took her time standing up. It wasn't hard to hear what she had to say. "How many _froggin_ times do I have to tell you? Do _not_ call me that."

"Like I said, I own you bitch. I'll call you whatever I want to."

Angel stepped out onto the stairs and started down them.


	7. The Hero is Gonna Kill EVERYBODY

Austin's P.O.V.

Dead silence.

Out loud that is.

In my head there is the part of me that Loves Angel screaming.

**_WHAT THE HELL IS FUCKING WRONG WITH YOU? ARE YOU FUCKING PSYCHO? DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT THE HELL HE SAID? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US ALL SHOT? HOLY FUCK! YOU'RE FUCKING NUTS! I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU, BABY! I JUST GOT YOU BACK! YOU ARE SO FUCKING NUTS!_**

Every eye in the house is on Angel as she takes her time getting to the bottom. When she finally steps off the last step, she's surrounded by the teenage mutant ninja turtles. I could tell the guy dressed as Michelangelo was another senior, Ulrik Thompson, because of the… prided way he walked. Raphael was obviously Jason Stahls, another senior. Anybody would recognize those muscles.

I saw the power puff girls start to walk over. Alyssin Hare, a senior, was dressed as bubbles (purple hair sticking out from under the wig, and the bunny ears on top). VeAnn Chase, a junior, was dressed as Blossom. She should've been Bubbles because she's the one who's always so bubbly. She was almost skipping. Buttercup was the short and stout senior: Trish.

How did Sam brainwash these people into doing this? These are good people. Well, Jason has a dark side and Angel told me Alyssin kinda grew demonic after kindergarten. But, I still can't see any psycho doing something like this.

Besides Sam that is.

Angel now had seven big guns pointed to her head. SpongeBob and Patrick – one of whom was Dez (that hair and goofy walk) – started over. This was going downhill fast.

Angel was still walking, being stalked by – now – nine guns.

Oh…

Clever.

I see what she's doing.

She's distracting them.

She's so smart.

She turns and discreetly winks at me. I.e. get the hell outta here.

No fucking way.

I text JoJo, who's sitting nearest the doors, and tell him to unlock them, quick.

He looks at the distracted Sam, stands up, and that's when Sam figures it out.

"STOP!" everyone freezes. No one even dares to breathe as he walks over to Angel. The Nickelodeon crew splits to let Dora through.

Angel P.O.V.

Schnot. I knew he wasn't stupid, but I was hoping he'd be a little slower. He took the last step to close the gap between us so we were almost nose to nose. "You really think I'm that stupid, Triple A?"

"Fuck you." Oops. Stupid mouth-before-brain.

"Been there done that. Might wanna go back." He looked at me like I was a piece of meat and wrapped one arm around my waist.

I smacked his hand away. "Not happening. You see, I'm not _your_ Angel anymore. I _have_ spread my wings, but they're not broken anymore. And I'm flying away from you."

His face went from hungry to angry. He grabbed my arm with a fierce strength. "I don't think so. You're not done until I say you're done. You're mine until I'm bored with you."

"Last time I checked, you were done with me." I tried to push his hand off my arm. He gripped harder. "Get off me."

"I don't think so." He yanked me close to him, snaked his arm around my shoulders, and turned to his characters. "Me and my girl need some privacy." They scattered.

Privacy? There's three thousand kids in here. Oops, never mind. Hehe. It took all of ten seconds for Patrick to come running back. "Sam."

"You're my bitch, not-"

"Sam."

"Your own fucking person."

"_Sam_."

"I own your ass."

"Sam!"

"**_WHAT?!_**" He whipped around with pure hatred on his face. Dez just pointed to the open door. Something that sounded like a lion being murdered by a grizzly bear erupted from Sam's mouth.

Everybody froze.

Sarah's P.O.V.

It actually worked. For the most part. Angel got almost half the freshmen class out the door by distracting Sam. But, now he' s _extremely_ ticked off. He looks like he's gonna eat her face.

We could here him screaming at her from her as he practically dragged her across the gym. "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you're a fucking hero or something? I mean what the hell were you thinking _Triple A_? You think you own the whole fucking world?" He stopped by the open door and turned her to lean down into her face. "I don't think so, bitch. Because the only person who owns anybody is me. I own all your asses."

BANG! Sam reached behind her and slammed the door shut. We heard the _click_ as it locked.

Everybody looked as if they were too afraid to even breathe. I know I was. I've never seen Sam like this. Well, to be honest I've never seen _anybody_ like this.

I kind of felt like I was in a living, breathing Skrillex song. What's the one that Austin, Tiff, and Angel really like? "Kill EVERYBODY"? Yeah. It fits.

Sam turned and yelled louder. "Okay. Here's how we're gonna do this. My friends-" he gestured towards the rest of the Nickelodeon crew "are gonna let you come down to the gym floor. One row at a time. Anybody makes any unnecessary move, and you get shot. And just so you know I'm not playing – and because my little Triple A here decided to be a hero – I'll prove my point."

He shot Angel in the left shoulder. Blood gushed everywhere.

She barely even flinched, and she didn't even make a sound. I know that _had_ to hurt.

Now, I'm thinking "Hero" by Skillet.

Ally's P.O.V.

Okay, I may not like Angel, but I have to give her props. She's got balls. Risking her life, she got half the freshman class to safety. What does she get for thanks? A shot to the shoulder. Wow. This psycho must like her. The weird thing is, most people would scream in pain. She didn't barely even flinched. That's a lot of pain to tolerate. It's like she's used to it.

Dora's crew fell into place among the bleachers. Within twenty minutes, everybody was in circles of about twenty five people each. Austin, Sarah, Rose, and I ended up in the same circle. I never noticed this before, but Tiff was missing. What the – as Angel would say – McSquiggle? Speaking of Angel, Dora decided to – literally – throw her into our circle.

Dora had barely walked away, and Angel hardly sat up straight, when Austin fiercely whispered, "What the _hell_, Ang? Are you as psycho as Sam is?" He pointed to Dora. So _that's_ who it is. Makes sense. "He could've killed you."

Angel put up her hands to stop his rant. "He wouldn't have killed me. he enjoys torturing me too much."

When we all looked at her like _wtf?_ she took a deep breath and began.

* * *

**A/N: I Love the songs I refrenced in here. They are AWESOME you should listen to them. And, oh, yeah. I used another cliff hanger. And, for my bestie, I used and to start TWO sentences, just now. Love you, readers. 3 More chapters and song refrences to come. And something about me: listen to "Monster" by Skillet. (three) :D Mwahz! 3**


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